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Talk:William Legrand
In the way of trivia: After the name "William Legrand" struck a chord, I googled it. HT's character shares his name with one of the central characters of Edgar Allan Poe's story "The Gold-Bug". TR 17:10, November 5, 2009 (UTC) :Ah, yes, "The Gold-Bug." I did not enjoy that story much when I read it for a book report the summer between sixth and seventh grades. :On the other hand, I also read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn at the same time for the same reason, and that's been one of my all-time favorites ever since. Turtle Fan 20:27, November 5, 2009 (UTC) ::Ho, ho! HT's Legrand starts to have nightmares after he visits the dentist. One I recognized as being from "The Pit and the Pendulum". After looking up details about "The Gold-Bug", I see that it describes another nightmare. ML4E 22:05, November 5, 2009 (UTC) :::Hmm, if I read Reincarnations--and I was planning to, sooner or later--I'll need to brush up on my Poe to appreciate that one fully. I suppose the mid-nineteenth century Baltimore setting is a bit of a hint there. ::::Suit yourself. I found it an ammusing enough little story (a non-horrifying horror story). Re-reading Poe will probably let you catch additional allusions but isn't neccessary. :::::If you say so. It does seem like a lot of work. Turtle Fan 05:09, November 8, 2009 (UTC) :::So that's two short stories set in Baltimore, now, plus throwaway references in the Civil War works. It's got growth potential--It's played a not-insignificant role in American history, both the geopolitical and the cultural versions. Turtle Fan 22:49, November 5, 2009 (UTC) ::::Do you mean a category pertaining to Baltimore, or just wishing HT would do more with the place? TR 00:50, November 6, 2009 (UTC) :::::Such a category would be a little too amorphous for our standards. I just point this fact out. Turtle Fan 03:39, November 6, 2009 (UTC) ::::::Wasn't clear. That had the potential to open a door we probably don't want to open (People From ______city; Stories That Use _____city As a Setting; Fictional Cities Based on _______city). TR 04:52, November 6, 2009 (UTC) :::::::Soon we'd be back to "Places in New York" territory. Turtle Fan 05:58, November 6, 2009 (UTC) Why Poe? ::::It does beg the question why HT alluded to Poe in a book dedicated to de Camp though. ML4E 20:15, November 7, 2009 (UTC) :::::Perhaps de Camp was a big Poe fan? His wikipedia entry doesn't mention this, but that proves nothing by itself. TR 20:20, November 7, 2009 (UTC) :::::Ok, I think I found a possible answer. From the wikipedia article on The Incomplete Enchanter: "The Harold Shea stories are parallel world tales in which universes where magic works coexist with our own, and in which those based on the mythologies, legends, and literary fantasies of our world and can be reached by aligning one's mind to them by a system of symbolic logic." (my italics). So without having read either the original or the Turtledove homage, I'm guessing that this story depicts a universe wherein the works of Poe are real. TR 08:29, November 8, 2009 (UTC)